No. 22/21 St. John’s Coasts Past Iona, 91-64

Saturday, December 13

New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)

12 p.m.

St. John's University

6-3,0-0Big East

Iona

8-4,1-1MAAC

Iona

St. John's (NY)

12/13/2025 3:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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St. John’s senior forward Zuby Ejiofor becomes second player since the start of 2014-15 season to record eight or more blocks in back-to-back games

NEW YORK - Led by another standout shot-blocking performance from Zuby Ejiofor and six players scoring in double-figures, the No. 22/21 St. John's men's basketball team (6-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) coasted to a victory over Iona (8-4, 1-1 MAAC) on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, 91-64.

After the Gaels held an early lead and then trimmed its 10-point halftime deficit below five on three occasions in the second half, the Red Storm answered with a 43-20 run over the final 14 minutes of the game. St. John's rebounded from a 1-for-13 (7.6 percent) shooting start by sinking 64.4 percent (29-45 FG) of its field goals the rest of the way.

Ejiofor put up another monster shot-blocking performance becoming the first player in NCAA Division I to record eight or more blocks in consecutive games since Obinni Anochili-Killen of Marshall did so in November of 2021. It is also just the second since the beginning of 2014-15 season that a player reached the mark. The 2025-26 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year finished the afternoon with 10 rebounds in addition to becoming the first-ever St. John's player to record eight or more rejections in consecutive contests.

Oziyah Sellers led St. John's with a team-high 19 points and shot 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) from beyond-the-arc. The senior guard scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half and added five rebounds. Joson Sanon made three triples in the opening half and logged a 13-point effort.

Ian Jackson added 14 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the free throw line, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Bryce Hopkins chipped in 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting and five boards. Dillon Mitchell and Lefteris Liotopoulos both tallied 10 points, which marked a career-best for the sophomore from Greece.

Iona's C.J. Anthony led all scorers with 20 points and four steals during Saturday's contest at The World's Most Famous Arena.

After Hopkins recorded bucket on the Johnnies opening possession, the Gaels rattled off a 10-0 run to take an eight-point advantage, 10-2. Ejiofor halted the field goal drought with a bucket before Sellers finished through contact for a 3-point play to tie the score, 10-10, with 11:33 left in the first half.

The Red Storm took its first lead since the opening minute of the contest after Liotopoulos buried a triple off the dish from Sellers. On the defensive end, Ejiofor erased a fastbreak opportunity with a monster swat into the backboard, the senior's 10^th over the last two contests. Sanon flushed a long-range basket in transition to close out an 18-2 scoring run, 20-12.

Later in the opening stanza, Jackson and Mitchell combined for a 7-0 spurt as the Red Storm's advantage expanded to 12, 30-18, heading into the under-4 media timeout. Iona climbed back within six, 30-24, scoring six unanswered points. However, Sanon buried back-to-back 3-pointers to close out the opening half as St. John's held a 36-26 lead at the break. The Red Storm's defense limited Iona to just 14 points over the final 16 minutes of the half.

In the second stanza, Gaels' leading scorer Anthony rattled off seven-straight points for the visitors, cutting the deficit under five on three separate occasions. Sellers led the response for the Johnnies bookending a 10-0 run with back-to-back triples as the advantage ballooned to 14, 58-44, with 11:31 remaining. After Iona broke the scoring drought, Ejiofor slammed home a thunderous jam to complete a 12-2 stretch midway through the second half.

Sellers stayed hot guiding another scoring spurt for St. John's. The Stanford transfer ended an 8-0 stretch with a corner triple following an Ejiofor rejection to bring the lead to as many as 20, 66-46, with eight minutes remaining.

Liotopoulos reached his new personal best finishing a fastbreak lay-in set up by a behind-the-back dish from Jackson, as the Johnnies lead was 75-56 with 5:20 remaining.

Handje Tamba recorded his first NCAA Division I basket since the end of the 2023-24 season and first at St. John's, flushing a hook shot to close out the scoring with 32 seconds left on the clock. With the victory, Pitino registered his 20^th career win over teams that he formerly coached.

St. John's will return to Carnesecca Arena for its BIG EAST opener against DePaul on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Peacock.